The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released a set of comprehensive recommendations addressing critical services in the Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication sector and the transfer of ownership of M2M SIMs. The move follows a request from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), seeking reconsideration of TRAI’s earlier recommendations from 2017 on spectrum, roaming, and quality of service requirements for M2M communications.

In response, TRAI issued a consultation paper in June 2024 and conducted a stakeholder engagement process, including an open house discussion in October 2024. Based on the feedback received and its internal analysis, TRAI has finalized its recommendations aimed at strengthening India’s growing M2M ecosystem.

The regulator emphasized the importance of identifying and classifying critical IoT services in sectors such as healthcare, automotive, public safety, utilities, and agriculture. TRAI proposed that services should be classified as "critical IoT services" if they require ultra-reliable, low-latency connectivity with high availability and if their disruption could severely impact national security, public health, safety, or the economy. It recommended that this classification be carried out by respective ministries or regulators in coordination with the DoT, with an institutional mechanism established by DoT to assist in this process.

A technology-neutral approach was endorsed for the provision of critical IoT services, allowing both licensed and unlicensed wireless technologies as well as wired solutions—provided they meet the required performance benchmarks.

Addressing the growing concerns over security and privacy in IoT, particularly in sensitive sectors, TRAI proposed mandatory testing and certification for M2M communication modules used in critical applications. These would fall under the MTCTE framework, especially for sectors identified as critical by the National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC).

In addition, TRAI recommended that the DoT create a clear framework to facilitate the transfer of M2M service provider registrations in the event of corporate restructuring such as mergers or acquisitions. It also urged the DoT to enable provisions for transferring ownership of M2M SIMs between authorized service providers.

The full text of the recommendations is available on the TRAI website. For further information or clarification, stakeholders are advised to contact Shri Akhilesh Kumar Trivedi, Advisor (Network Spectrum & Licensing), TRAI.